Bloody American Leeches!
by Googleeyes
Summary: Erik has met far too many time travelers. Clearly he's not thrilled when two more show up in his lake, invade his home, and get on his nerves. It might help his temper if they knew anything at all about his story, and had a sense of when to die.
1. Prologue: The Closet of Doom

_So, this is basically a time travel story. And there are two OC's. I'm just stating this right off, but I am by no means discouraging people from reading the story. I like to think that my characters are NOT Sues, and I find it rather unlikely that they are because they both have some major issues. And Kendra is annoying. Even to me. So my warning is both a warning and a bit of an explanation. Actually, I would really like it if people read my story and, preferably, left a review. Let me know if you like it, hate it, don't care, think my characters are Sues etc. _

_Also, this is the prologue and Erik does not appear until the next chapter. Just so you know. But he will appear. Anyway, on with the story!_

_(Disclaimer: I own nothing, and will not continue to post these in each chapter, because I think it's pretty much assumed that everyone who posts on FFN doesn't own what they're writing about.)

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The old wooden floorboards creaked distractingly as Kendra tried to make her way quietly through the hallway of the ruined mansion that was the location at which her boyfriend's brother would film his summer film school project. At the moment Andrea was nowhere in sight, so she could only assume she'd lost her reluctant partner somewhere back in the twisting maze of narrow hallways and squished-together rooms that made up the second level of the house. With the racket the floorboards were making, though, it likely wouldn't remain that way for long.

Sure enough, she soon heard creaking footsteps rounding the corner behind her and dashed into the nearest hiding place- a little closet at the end of the hall. As she partially shut the door and shoved herself against the most shadowy wall, she tried to remember if there was actually a reason she was trying so hard to hide from Andrea. Part of it was pouting over the fact that she hadn't been paired with her boyfriend, Mickey, to explore the house, she knew that much. Part of it was that she didn't exactly like Andrea very much, part of it was that she was bored of wandering around dusty, falling-apart rooms and trying to hide was more interesting… Altogether, that seemed enough of a reason for Kendra, so she let it go and concentrated on trying not to breathe and betray her presence.

Unfortunately, the footsteps continued to creak down the hall, closer and closer to Kendra's hiding place. Perhaps Andrea wouldn't make it to the end of the hall and fail to discover the closet, Kendra tried to tell herself. A second or two later, however, she knew this wouldn't be the case and her heart began to sink. She could hear the sound of fingertips tracing the peeling wallpaper and could tell that, even if she managed to make no sound at all, Andrea would still find the closet with Kendra inside it, and lecture her until she wished she could be back staring at dusty old rooms.

A moment later something brushed the door and it swung open once more, letting in a sudden flash of dusky light. Kendra uselessly shrunk closer to the ground, but before she could get into a squat Andrea grabbed a fistful of her sweatshirt and pulled her back up.

"There you are."

Kendra rolled her eyes and looked up at her friend's (as usual) emotionless face, thin brown hair falling in front of her small, squinted eyes and neatly rounded nose.

"Yeah, what about it?"

Andrea released her sweatshirt and Kendra tried to smooth it back into shape, shoving her own long, dark bangs out of her face. Andrea took a step further into the small, empty closet, resting her hand on the doorframe.

"We should be examining the rooms on this floor to report back to Peter so he'll know what he needs to do in order to refurbish this house for filming."

"Um, yeah. He already told us that, like, three times. I know what we're supposed to be doing." Kendra stretched slowly, then leaned back against the wall. "That's just not what I feel like doing right now."

"You will have free time later. At this moment, we have been given a task and we need to complete it."

"Dude, can't you just learn to relax every once in a while? The world's not going to collapse around us if we take a break." She grabbed Andrea's arm and pulled her, looking rather uncomfortable, fully into the closet. "I think we should hang out in the closet for a little while. We could talk or…" Kendra glanced at Andrea, "Stand around glaring at the wall thinking about boring things or… something."

Andrea stayed stiff, lips tightly pressed together in an expression of discomfort, and Kendra sighed and rolled her eyes again.

"I think we should get back to work."

"Why do you always have to be such a sourpu…"

Kendra's insult was cut off by the door suddenly slamming shut, as if blown by a wind, leaving the two in complete darkness.

"What was that?" Kendra whimpered, suddenly clinging to Andrea's shoulder for comfort.

Andrea quickly shoved her off, though she was feeling decidedly shaky herself. "I have no idea. Did someone shut the door on us?"

"No, it just flew closed by itself!"

"That's…"

Kendra never got to hear what Andrea thought, because at that moment a sudden flash of bright light made Kendra cry out in pain as the floor dropped out from under them.


	2. Chapter 1: Underground Surprises

_Erik enters in this chapter! At some point. Some things will be explained, but other explanations will come at a later point. Also, I'd really appreciate reviews. Yes, I know I am pathetic.

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They fell for what seemed an interminable time, screaming the whole way, before coming to rest suddenly on what felt like hard stone with a soft thud. Kendra slowly rolled onto her side, tenderly rubbing the places where the floor had slammed into her the most painfully. Andrea stayed where she was for a moment, relaxing on the stone from the long fall, before sitting up carefully and trying to make sense of things.

"Where are we?" she asked quietly, the words coming out a bit hoarse.

"How the hell should I know," Kendra replied, irritated and rubbing her head. "I didn't make the door slam shut so some freaky trap door could drop us down to who-knows-where. I thought it was just a closet."

"Do you have any idea where we might be?"

Kendra looked around, blinking a few times in the sudden darkness. "I don't know. It's all rock walls and dark and weird. There's nothing even down here. Maybe we're in the basement. Weren't Hanna and Mickey looking around the basement and attic? Maybe they're down here." She perked up a bit and looked around eagerly. "Hey, Hanna! Mickey, can you hear me? Mickey, it's me, Kendra! Where are you guys?"

Her words hung in the musty air, and no one called back to her. Kendra's face fell and she looked to Andrea for ideas. Andrea, however, seemed to have other things on her mind. Her head was turned toward the place where the walls turned to the side and the stone hallway they were in continued on, her brow wrinkled slightly in concentration. Kendra stared at her.

"What are you doing? What's so interesting about the corner?"

"There's water somewhere," Andrea replied slowly, still concentrating. "That's strange. There isn't any water in the basement that I've heard of, certainly nothing to make a sound like that. Those are waves."

"Waves in the basement? Why would there be waves in the basement?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe we should go find out."

Kendra pushed herself to her feet, pulling Andrea up with her, and began walking round the corner. At first Andrea protested, but she quickly gave in to her curiosity. When they turned the corner to face yet another empty stone passageway, Kendra found that she could now hear the water as well. Strangely, it really did sound like waves washing up on some sort of shore. After several more winding stone passageways, they finally discovered the source of the noise- the waves of a vast lake washing up on a stone shore.

"Whoa. Yeah, I'm pretty sure this isn't the basement." Kendra stared out at the lake, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

"What is it?"

"It's a lake. A big lake, and it looks like it's underground. Okay, this is really weird."

"An underground lake?"

"Yeah."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. Well, at least we know where the noise was coming from. Now we just have to worry about where we are and why the hell there's an underground lake." Kendra plopped down on the rock, far enough away from the waves to avoid getting wet, and stared out at the water.

"It smells strange." Andrea rubbed at her nose as if she could force the scent away.

"Yeah, it kind of does. I hope we're not in the sewers or something." Kendra pulled her knees to her chest and began thinking aloud. "How did we end up by an underground lake? It was probably something to do with the house. Did the house send us here? Why would the house send us to an underground lake? This is just too weird."

"Will you stop talking to yourself and come over here?" Andrea interrupted. "I found a boat."

Kendra looked up and saw Andrea ankle deep in water, climbing into a little rowboat. She quickly dropped her knees and scrambled to her feet, hurrying to get into the boat. It rocked more than she expected and she almost fell into the water, taking Andrea with her, but eventually they both managed to get inside.

"Great idea with the boat," Kendra said as she struggled to untie the boat from its post without over-balancing and tipping the boat. "I probably should have done this before I got in, but it's too late now. Anyway, yeah, it'll definitely be good to see what's on the other side of this lake."

"Do you know that you talk a lot when you're nervous?"

"Yeah, I pretty much did. A lot of people have…"

"Stop it."

"Fine." Kendra finished untying the boat, too occupied to waste much time on sulky pouting. As soon as she carefully lowered herself back into the boat, Andrea began rowing with one of the little paddles. Kendra took up the other one and dipped it into the water, encountering more resistance than she expected. Soon, though, they had both figured out a way to effectively move the boat across the lake.

It was smooth sailing at first, silent except for the sound of their paddles in water. Kendra was very tempted to try to start a conversation to break the silence, but managed to restrain herself. After a while, though, Andrea paused and told Kendra to stop rowing and listen. Both girls listened to quiet sounds of the water, and detected what seemed to be very faint sounds of someone moving under the water. A moment later a soft singing began, so sweet that Kendra dropped her paddle into the bottom of the boat to listen. It seemed to be coming from the lake itself, and she leaned over the side a bit to get closer to the heavenly sound. Andrea had paused with her paddle still poised halfway out of the water and looked like she was in a trance of some sort, a look of utter calm on her face.

"What do you think that is?" Kendra whispered, slurring her words a bit in her distraction.

Andrea didn't reply, merely made some wordless noise.

"I hope it doesn't go away."

The singing didn't go away. If anything it increased in its volume and intensity. About this time, the boat began to rock. It was so gentle at first that neither of the girls noticed. After a while, though, the boat began to rock so violently that Kendra, jerked out of her cocoon of quiet joy, began clutching the sides desperately.

"Andrea, what's the boat doing?" she asked, panic edging into her voice. "Why is it rocking like this?"

Andrea seemed to be still too absorbed in the song to reply, so absorbed that even repeated slaps to the face by Kendra didn't garner a response. After the boat tipped over and they both found themselves being strangled by two long hands, however, she began to come to her senses.

Underwater the two girls flailed desperately, shouting out words that were lost in the murky depths of the lake, attacking every part they could find of the man who held them, seemingly to no avail. After a while, Kendra lost sight of Andrea amongst the bubbles and disturbances caused by their fighting and began to lose hope. There was no way she could get out of this. At the moment, she could only see one easy solution. She closed her eyes, stopped breathing, and went limp in the arms of her attacker.

She must have fallen asleep, for the next time Kendra dared to open her eyes she was strewn ungracefully on the rocky shore of the lake. Andrea was a few feet away in much the same condition, still lying unmoving. Her neck was painfully sore from the relentless grip she'd been held in and she was sure there would be finger marks in her skin soon, if there weren't already. Looking down at herself, she could see that her clothes were torn in several places.

Muttering under her breath, Kendra picked herself up and went over to rouse Andrea. Her wet clothes clung to her body uncomfortably and she had to pause to wring out her dripping hair. Being strangled in a lake was turning out to be rather inconvenient.

It didn't take much to rouse Andrea. A few shakes and whispered words and her friend was sitting up and looking confused. Kendra had to remind her of the events a little bit, something to do with the after-effects of the singing, she suspected, but soon they were both ready to find out exactly where they were and what had been going on.

"Well, I think we're on the other side of the lake now. Unless we're upside down or something," Kendra started off.

"We're not upside down."

"Hey, I'm not ruling anything out right now. Everything's so weird I'm not trusting anything to be what it looks like. Anyway," she looked around, "Oh my god is that a house?!"

"What?"

Kendra jumped up to get a better look. "I swear there's a house down here. It looks like kind of an old house, too."

"Why would there be a house?"

"You think I'd know? Come on, let's go check it out!" She jumped up and started hurrying for the house.

"I'm not sure if that is a very good…" Andrea began, but Kendra was out of earshot before she could finish the sentence. Sighing, she picked herself off the ground and began trudging after the younger girl's footsteps.

Kendra stopped and stared in awe at the house once she reached it. It wasn't a particularly impressive house, other than its old fashioned style, but it seemed so out of place in the dark, musty caves by the strange underground lake that it gave off the aura of some sort of elegant mansion. When Andrea reached her, shoes scuffing slightly on the rock floor, and rested a hand on her shoulder, Kendra had decided to investigate the inside of the house. No sooner had Andrea stopped and began to relax that Kendra was off again, walking until she stopped before the wood door and stared at that as well.

"Do you think there's anyone in there?" she called back to Andrea.

"Possibly the person who attempted to strangle us."

"Well that's reassuring." Kendra rolled her eyes and tried to sound less nervous than she felt. "I think I'll check it out anyway."

When Andrea caught up once more, Kendra knocked tentatively on the door as Andrea ran a hand along the solid wood, looking a bit surprised. No one immediately rushed to answer the door, for which Kendra gave an inward sigh of relief. She tried turning the knob and the door opened easily, to her surprise. She'd thought that whoever had vacated the house would have at least had the sense to lock the door. Still, it wouldn't do any good to be ungrateful for their good luck, so she slowly pushed the door open and quietly stepped inside, dragging Andrea along behind her.

A few steps into the nicely decorated house, Kendra's breath caught in her throat and she had to clutch Andrea's shoulder to steady herself. Standing a few feet in front of her stood a tall, imposing man in all black up to the mask covering his face. He didn't look very happy about seeing them either.

"I… um… well, we… sorry?" Kendra stuttered clumsily, staring terrified at the man's masked face and squeezing Andrea's hand until her knuckles turned white.

Andrea tried to pry off Kendra's fingers and turned to her for explanation, but Kendra and the masked man seemed to have been locked into some sort of staring contest. He finally broke off, cleared his throat, and spoke in a voice so smooth and lovely that the girls' breath caught in their throats as with the singing in the water.

"I thought I had killed you in the lake," he said with an accent Kendra couldn't place.

"Um, about that…" Kendra trailed off, not wanting to get into explanations at the moment. "Where are we? This is something I really want to know, because you have no idea how confused I am right now."

It was difficult to tell, but Kendra thought that behind his mask the man looked confused as well. "Under l'Opera Garnier. The fifth cellar. You've somehow made it across the lake." If he was confused, his voice certainly didn't betray it.

"The what? Well, great, you're no help."

"Are you an imbecile? Have you never heard of the Paris Opera House?"

"Paris?" Kendra's mouth near dropped open and Andrea swallowed loudly in surprise. "How'd we get to Paris? We were in England half an hour ago!"

"I am sure that is quite impossible, mademoiselle. You are in Paris, beneath the Opera House, as I mentioned, far more than a mere half hour from England. Your encounter with death must have confused you. Perhaps I should finish the job."

"Don't you touch me!" Kendra shrieked, scuttling backward until her back hit a wall. "I'll… sue you… or… something!"

"Sue me?" Now the man sounded confused.

"Yeah. I'll, like, get a lawyer or something… and sue you for… sexual harassment! And attempting to murder me! Isn't that against the law?"

The man had long ago begun to ignore Kendra's rambling, choosing to study her clothes instead. "You two young ladies are dressed rather… outlandishly."

"No we're not! I'm not, anyway. These clothes are totally in style. I just bought them a couple weeks ago. But now that they're soaking wet, thanks to you dumping us in the lake, I'd kind of like something dry to wear. Do you know where I can find anything?"

The man merely stared.

"Fine. I'll find it myself, then." She tried to draw herself up proudly and walk away with some dignity, but only succeeded in stumbling over an Oriental rug and dripping water all over a nearby table.

When she had disappeared down the hall the man turned his attention to Andrea, who had been staying by the doorway and fiddling around with an ornate box from one of the bookshelves. In the awkward silence, she carefully returned the box to its shelf and tried not to fidget under his tangible glare.

"You came with the other girl?" he asked, stepping a bit closer to her.

"Yes."

"You are dressed similarly… Where is it you come from?"

"We were in England earlier, but we're originally from America. I was born in Newton City, New Jersey. I do not know where Kendra was born. When we were living in America with three others, Hanna, Mickey, and Peter, we lived in Glendale, New Jersey."

"Intriguing," he cut her off. "Americans. How did you come to Paris without realizing it? Surely you didn't jump aboard a ship with no preparation or knowledge of where you were going."

"We didn't travel here on a ship," Andrea explained, confusion seeping up into her mind once more. "We were in an English mansion, assessing the damage and repair needed to make it serviceable as a set for Peter's film school summer project, when we stepped into a closet, the door closed itself behind us, and we were transported to this cellar by an underground lake."

He muttered under his breath a little at her explanation, but quickly covered it up with a question. "Film school?"

"Yes, a school where the students learn to make films."

The man opened his mouth to ask another question, but Kendra suddenly burst into the room, still sopping wet. "You don't have any good clothes. All I can find are giant suits and ridiculous, fancy, puffy dresses. What is this, the 1800's or something? No one wears stuff like that anymore."

"Why yes, actually, it is 1880. Is that not the year you were expecting?" His silky smooth voice almost seemed dangerous in a way.

"No. What the hell? It's 2009!"

"I'm afraid that, once again, you are quite mistaken, mademoiselle. The year is very clearly 1880." He conjured a newspaper seemingly out of nowhere and shoved it under Kendra's nose. "Do you understand now?"

Kendra gaped at the paper, her mouth moving wordlessly, trying desperately of something to say.

"What the hell?! Andrea, that freaking closet sent us back to the 1800's!"

Erik sighed and muttered under his breath, "Not again."


	3. Chapter 2: Random Conversations

_So... chapter three! I don't have much to say about this. Some things are revealed (if you haven't already guessed), but not everything. Uh... Kendra talks a lot in this chapter. And she's still kind of annoying. Other than that, I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I will try to work on it so anyone who's reading this isn't left hanging for too long. Not that it's a cliffhanger ending or anything. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

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Kendra, finally calmed down, had settled to sulking boredly on a couch in Erik's parlor, playing absentmindedly with the frills and lace on her slightly too-large dress. Andrea was seated beside her, her own dress fitting better height-wise but still hanging loosely. Erik, sitting in the armchair across from the girls, had picked up a book to pass the time until they finally decided to talk again and the occasional rustle of the pages was the only sound to break the silence.

"How are we supposed to get back?" Kendra suddenly asked, beginning to feel restless in the quiet. "I don't really want to spend the rest of my life in dresses like these," Erik made a sound that could have been a quiet chuckle, but didn't look up from his book, "And Hanna, Mickey, and Peter will probably start wondering where we are after a while."

"If you're asking me, mademoiselle, I have no more of an idea than yourself. I certainly didn't summon you to my house."

"My name's Kendra, by the way," she said pointedly. "So you can stop calling me '_mademoiselle_'."

"Very well, mademoiselle _Kendra_. And what would be the name of your quieter and less annoying friend?"

Kendra glared at him for the remark, but waited for Andrea to give her name before retaliating. However, when Andrea said nothing, simply sat there looking rather zoned-out, Kendra took over.

"Her name's Andrea, and I am not annoying. Well, maybe sometimes, but she can be annoying, too. Just wait until you're trying to tell her something important and suddenly find out that she's been doing something else the whole time and hasn't even realized you're there, or she throws a massive hissy fit because you accidentally put one fork in the wrong place, or she comes up and starts talking to you but she's only a couple inches away from your face and it's really awkward, or she starts completely insulting you without noticing it or how you're starting to get upset…"

"I'll consider myself warned," Erik replied sarcastically.

Kendra glanced over at Andrea, hoping she hadn't managed to upset her usually unflappable acquaintance, but Andrea showed no sign of having heard Kendra's comments. Kendra huffed and threw herself against the back of the sofa, quickly pulling herself away and wincing.

"Don't you put any cushions on your couches? This thing is like rock."

When Erik declined to comment, Kendra decided to try again.

"Is there anything to do around here? I'm so bored…"

"Perhaps you could find something with which to occupy yourself. I have a wide collection of books, scores, librettos, several books of art… You may choose one if you like."

Kendra made a small noise of disgust. "I don't want to read books. I want to have fun, not put myself to sleep." She paused for a moment, then asked, "What do you do around here?"

"I do many things. I am an architect, a musician…"

"Oh yeah! I saw that giant organ while I was wandering around looking for clothes. That thing's enormous. Trying to compensate for something?" She smirked, but Erik gave no reaction save a slight tightening of one of his hands.

"I am a ventriloquist, magician…"

"Ooh! I like magic! Magic's fun. Could you pull a rabbit out of your hat or something? That'd be cool."

"I do not pull rabbits out of my hat, mademoiselle."

"Oh, so we're back to this _mademoiselle _stuff now. Fine, be that way. So, what do you do?"

"I do not feel it is necessary to inform you of my tricks, mademoiselle _Kendra_."

"Fine, Mr. Crankypants."

Erik grunted and buried his face in his book once more. Kendra leaned back against the sofa again, this time more gently, and broodingly stared into space.

"The Palais Garnier has some very interesting structural ideas," Andrea announced. "I examined the blueprints once, and some of the architecture is intriguing. It was designed in the neo-baroque style. Fascinating style."

Kendra snorted and rolled her eyes.

Erik looked up from his book with interest. "You have knowledge of architecture?"

"Yes. I am studying architecture, back in America."

Erik closed his book, marking his place with a string of cloth.

"I don't know why." Kendra rolled her neck and closed her eyes, leaning back against the top of the sofa as if planning to sleep. "It looks so boring. Just lines on paper that are supposed to be buildings. And you have to calculate things, like math. I hate math. But your blueprints are fun. They're bumpy."

"The blueprints are raised so I am able to read them."

"If you were Daredevil you'd be able to read them just the way they are," Kendra replied in a sing song voice, letting out a dreamy sigh at the end. "God, Ben Affleck is so hot."

"Superheroes are not real. And Ben Affleck is married."

"To Jennifer Garner! She was Elektra! Isn't that weird?"

"I am confused," Erik interrupted.

"Kendra is discussing actors from a mediocre superhero movie."

"It's not mediocre! I liked it."

"Ah, a movie. I find the idea of movies fascinating. But it is difficult to imagine how they make still pictures move as if in action."

Kendra's head jolted forward from the back of the sofa. "How do you know about movies? I thought you said we were in the 1800's!"

Erik chuckled under his breath. "We are, mademoiselle Kendra. But I have had several futuristic visitors in the past, several even as annoying as yourself."

"Hey!"

"Are either of you determined to have me fall in love with you? Because I assure you I will not."

Kendra's face wrinkled in disgust. "No! You're creepy and weird and tried to kill me. Why would I fall in love with you?"

"I avoid romantic relationships."

"At least I can be thankful for that. Some of my," he hesitated, then choked out the word, "_fans _seem to find me somehow attractive. They can be outright disturbing."

"Really?" Kendra squinted and looked sideways at Erik's mask. "Well, I don't know. What do you look like under that mask?"

"You will never know, mademoiselle," Erik replied icily.

"Mask? Kendra, will you please tell me what's going on." Andrea was beginning to look distinctly uncomfortable in her spot on the couch. "I am getting confused."

"Are you extraordinarily unobservant, mademoiselle, or just blind?" Erik sneered. "I do not understand how someone can go so long without noticing such an obvious…"

"I'm blind," Andrea interrupted. "Did you manage to go so long without noticing?"

"Oh." Erik looked temporarily taken aback, but quickly replied in a bored tone, "Of course you are. It's been nearly a month since the last blind one, I should have realized I was due for another."

"I am no less confused."

"But you hide it well, mademoiselle… Andrea," Erik continued as if she hadn't spoken. "I am usually able to tell more quickly."

"Kendra's incessant conversation likely distracted you." Kendra began to protest, but Andrea silenced her swiftly with a well-placed kick to the shin. "And I have heightened senses."

Erik snorted lightly. "In my experience, I have found that to typically not be the case."

"Trust me," Kendra muttered, gingerly massaging her shin. "She really does. Hold on, I can show you." She straightened up and put her mouth to Andrea's ear in one swift motion. "HELLO! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" she shouted.

Andrea immediately recoiled from the noise, moving to the opposite end of the couch, and curled up into a ball, hands tightly pressed over her ears.

"See? If she didn't have such ridiculous hearing, she would have just been really annoyed at me."

Erik eyed Andrea's tense form warily. "Are you sure that was such a good idea?"

Kendra shrugged. "Probably not. But I've done it before, and she's usually fine after a while."

"I see."

"Sooo," Kendra drawled, stretching like cat on the couch, "I probably should've asked this earlier, when I was freaking out about the whole time thing, but why exactly are we underground? Didn't you say it was one of the cellars?"

"Did you notice you were in my house, mademoiselle?"

"Well, I noticed I was in a house. I didn't know it was yours, specifically, but I kind of guessed. Why is your house underground, by that freaky lake?"

Erik merely stared. "Do you know nothing of my story?"

She stared back. "You have a story? Am I supposed to know what it is?"

"You have honestly never heard of the Phantom of the Opera?"

"I dunno. Wasn't that some movie or something a few years ago? Yeah, with the guy from 300! He's hot! But I didn't see it. I don't like musicals."

"Well, that's a first." For possibly the first time since they'd met him, Erik sounded truly surprised.


	4. Chapter 3:Strange Emails and New Clothes

_I might have been able to get this up earlier, but other things (like real life and procrastination) sort of got in the way_. _However, I really doubt I'll get another chapter up before November, so the story may not be updated until after NaNoWriMo (check it out if you've never heard of it). I realize a fair deal of some of the chapters thus far, including this one, is pretty much filler and probably boring, but I'd still really like it if those who read would review. Even if it's just to tell me you exist or are bored out of your mind by my story or something. Some more plot will be arriving in the next chapter (though some is suggested here), but I'm worried it might come off as stupid. That would be a good thing to review about when the next chapter's posted! _

_TL;DR- I like reviews and would prefer some more. Feedback (even if it's negative) is awesome!  


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Erik hadn't said much for nearly three hours and had shut himself in his room about an hour and a half ago. Andrea had fallen asleep on the couch and Kendra was wondering whether she was allowed to sleep on the bed in the empty room. It was a very nice bed, in a very nice room, and she didn't want to use it if Erik was saving it for someone else.

But after consulting her cell phone (which had no reception and a dying battery, to her dismay) and realizing exactly what time it was, back in England anyway, she decided that it didn't matter if he was saving it for someone. She'd had a long, difficult, confusing day and she deserved a comfortable bed and some beauty sleep. She didn't know what to do about pajamas, though.

It didn't seem right to sleep in the dress, which would probably be unbearably uncomfortable to sleep in at any rate, but she couldn't find anything resembling sleepwear and wouldn't be quite comfortable sleeping naked in a house with such a creepy guy. After disassembling and reassembling the various components of her outfit several times, she decided she'd be fine in her underwear. After all, Erik wouldn't come into her room and pull off her blankets, right?

Satisfied, confident, and very ready for bed, she left the dress and its pieces scattered across the floor. It took her a few moments to figure out how to turn off the lamp, but she managed to do so without setting herself on fire, which was surely a good sign. She climbed into the very soft bed, pulled up the blankets, and fell asleep quickly.

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Kendra screamed when she awoke to see Andrea sitting on the edge of her bed, playing gently with the edge of her blanket.

"What the hell are you doing?" she shrieked, drawing her knees to her chest and pulling the blankets up around her.

"Ah, you're awake. I was wondering how long you would sleep."

"You freak! How long have you been in here?"

Andrea tilted her head to the side in thought. "Probably near half an hour. When I got up, Erik's door was locked and I didn't know what to do, so I found you sleeping in here and decided to wait until you awoke."

"You couldn't have found something better to do with your time than sitting in here and watching me sleep like some sort of stalker?"

"I don't know where anything is in this house, so I had nothing to do. I wasn't watching you sleep and I am not stalking you either."

"No duh. And _listening _to me sleep is just as creepy." Kendra sat up straighter and began running her fingers through her hair, wishing desperately for a decent comb and a straightening iron. And probably a shower. And makeup. "So did you have prophetic dreams about how we got here or anything? Or, even better, how we can get home?"

"I don't believe in prophetic dreams."

"Of course you don't. Well, I didn't come up with anything either, so I guess we're stuck here for a while. Which completely sucks. And I still have no freaking clue how we got here, so that's just great…"

Kendra climbed out of bed and began rummaging through the pockets of her now-dry sweatshirt, looking for any extra makeup she might have happened to be carrying. She pulled out a couple folded up pieces of paper, her iPod, 37 pence in change, several bits of broken furniture, a rubber ball, and a stick of chapstick, but no makeup. "Even better," she mumbled.

"What's better?" Andrea asked brightly, beginning to move toward her in case help was needed.

Kendra backed away and realized how glad she was that it was not Erik who had decided to come observe her sleeping habits. It was a little chilly in the room in just her underwear, but she wasn't in any mood to try to put on that dress again. "I don't even have any makeup. All I've got is a stick of chapstick, which does nothing."

"It prevents your lips from chapping."

"Yeah, but it doesn't work like lipstick."

"I don't understand why you are so attached to your cosmetics."

"I like to look good, okay. Something you have no experience with. Or any desire to gain experience with, no matter how many times I've tried to give you fashion advice…" She boredly unfolded the pieces of paper, hoping one of them would have something funny on it to cheer her up.

The first was the start of a drawing of Edward Cullen she'd been working on in between staring at old rooms with Andrea. So far it looked like an oddly shaped grape with a bird's nest on its head. The second was an email from her friend Amy she'd been meaning to read. Since Andrea wasn't saying anything and had started playing with the blanket again, she decided this was as good a time as any.

_Omg Hey Kendra!!!!_

_Ur sooooo lucky ur in England rite now. Its so hott right now I like want 2 go jump in a lake in Alaska or something. Is it raining there? Thad suck! How's that giant house u were talking about. Is it like a mansion or something?? Ur so lucky ur in a mansion in England rite now and not here in a boring lil house in the burning heat. _

_There's nothing to do in the summer. Omg I've watched so much TV I feel like my brains about to melt. It wud be soooo great if u were here. Do u think the fone company will charge me xtra if I try to txt you? Ooh, I saw this hecka cool movie last nite. It was called Phantom of the Opera and had the guy from 300 in it. He was sooo hott!!! _

_Ok, it was about dis ugly dude who lived in da basement of a opera house cause everyone h8ed him cuz he was ugly. LOL!!1 Then he fell in love with this chick Christine cuz she was Hot and a good singer and stuff like that. Did you know that guy can sing? He's soooo good!! O but this other guy named Roule or something with stupid long hair (I thought he was a chik at 1__st__ creepy) also liked her cuz he new her when they were kidz. And da Phatnom kidnapped her and sang to her and it was all sexy n stuff then he let her go but she didn't get to do the main roll in da opera that he wanted her 2 so he was mad. _

_And he disappeared for a while but came back at a costume dance in dis hott red outfit with really tite pants!! Then he made Chrsitine sing in da opera he made da managers put on and it was soooo sexy and hott!!!!! But he kidnapped her again and took her down to his layer and tried to kill Roul but Christine went wit dat loser anway!! It wuz soooo sad!! :'( He had a ttly bad childhood cuz gypsys beat him and put him in a cage and dere was a swordfite wit Rol and its a really good movie!!! And even do he was supposed to b ugly, he was still ttly hott and I wud sooo go out with him or something to make him feel better!!_

_Uh oh my mom wants me 2 take out da trash and says I hav to get off da computer. TTYL Kendra!!!_

_Amy_

Kendra slowly folded up the email and set it on her lap, staring at it. "Uh, Andrea?"

"Yeah?"

"It's kind of weird, 'cause I had an email in my pocket that I was going to read from Amy, and a lot of it's about Phantom of the Opera. Isn't that what Erik was talking about? D'you think it's just a weird coincidence, or did that closet send us here because I had that email in my pocket?"

"I don't believe in coincidences." Andrea was still playing with the blanket and Kendra was beginning to wonder what she found so fascinating about it.

"Right. You don't believe in anything, do you?"

"Not unless there's proof."

"You're so boring."

"I'm rational."

"You're like Spock. And Spock's weird." Since the cold in the cellar was beginning to make her really shiver, Kendra decided to at least put on something. She assumed Erik wouldn't want her to start walking around in trousers again, since he'd thrown such a fit about the first time, so she eventually settled with putting on the light, dress-looking thing she'd worn under the rest of her dress, and then her sweatshirt on top of that.

She glanced over at Andrea and saw that the other girl had progressed from toying with the blanket to fiddling with her hair.

"Soo," she drawled loudly. Andrea turned in her direction. "What are we going to do today, here in the 1800's?"

"I think a better question would be what will Erik do with us today? I doubt he'll let us run rampant on our first day here."

"I guess. I'd rather run rampant, though. It's more fun!"

Andrea said nothing and began silently braiding her hair. Kendra zipped up her sweatshirt and re-read Amy's email. Not more than ten minutes later, Erik knocked sharply on the door then pushed it open and walked inside.

He surveyed the scene briefly before announcing, "I am taking you shopping today."

Kendra dropped the email on the floor and a wide smile broke out over her face. "Shopping?"

"Yes. It is crucial that you be clothed in proper garments if you are to be here an indeterminate period of time before you are able to return to the proper century. Particularly if you plan to find some form of work within the Opera, which I highly recommend."

Kendra grimaced now. "I don't want to work! Especially not at some opera place. I hate opera music. Well, at least we get to have cool old-fashioned clothes that fit us right. Not like these giant dresses."

She kicked lightly at the pieces of dress on the floor and Erik grumbled indistinctly.

"I would appreciate it if you would try not to destroy my possessions, mademoiselle."

"The dress is your possession?" Kendra began giggling under her breath. "What do you do with it, parade it around in front of your mirror?"

"Perhaps it belongs to someone I know, mademoiselle, and not myself."

"My name is still Kendra, in case you forgot."

Erik glared at her and cleared his throat dramatically. "Nevertheless, I am going to take you girls shopping today. Fortunately I have a large amount of money reserved for these particular occasions, so I will let you know in advance that you may choose whatever you desire."

"Awesome. So when do we leave?"

"Whenever you are ready."

"I can get ready as soon as I find my shoes. What about you, Andrea? Are you ready yet?"

"What?" Andrea looked slightly startled and a little confused.

"Are you ready to go shopping?" Kendra repeated, a bit louder.

"Oh, I suppose so."

"You are not permitted out of my house until you finish dressing, mademoiselle Kendra."

Kendra looked down at the slip and sweatshirt. "Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot about that."

"I am sure mademoiselle Andrea can assist you if you need any help." Erik vanished from the room with a sound like swishing fabric and the door shut almost silently behind him.

Kendra didn't hesitate to change back into the dress, even though it looked a bit worse for the wear from being left on the ground in a heap all night. After verifying that Andrea was equally properly dressed, she grabbed the other girl's hand and dragged her out into Erik's parlor, where he was waiting calmly in an armchair. She nearly tripped on the hem of her dress a couple times, but managed to make it to the parlor without major incident.

"Now I'm ready," she announced proudly.

"Splendid. We should go, then."

"How do we get out of the cellars?" Andrea asked.

"If I show you, will you try to escape?"

"No," Andrea replied immediately.

Kendra paused. "I guess it depends on how bored I get, and how annoying you are, and what kind of mood I'm in…"

"In that case, I think I shall have to blindfold you. I would prefer it if you didn't get lost on an attempted escape and cause a nuisance or wander into Paris and cause trouble."

Kendra frowned. "But what if I want to see what the path out of here is? I never said I definitely would try to escape or anything."

"From the brief time I've known you, I think it would be best to take precautions. I do not think the same precautions will be necessary for your friend."

"Yes," Andrea agreed. "It would be unnecessary."

"Fine, be that way." Kendra made faces at Andrea while Erik left to get a blindfold. When he returned, he wrapped the piece of black fabric securely around her head, making sure she wouldn't be able to get it off by herself.

"Can you see anything?" he asked, turning her to face the light from a nearby lamp.

"Not really. I think we're by something lit, but I don't know what it is."

"That will do. Come along, girls." He took one of their hands in each of his own and began leading them down a passageway. Andrea obliged willingly but Kendra hesitated and he prodded her gently. "Do not be afraid, I do not intend to walk you into any walls."

"Yeah, knowing you so far, I don't know if I should trust you on that."

He chuckled gently, but true to his word tried his best not to bump either of them into any walls or other obstacles. The sometimes narrow stairways proved slightly more troublesome, but the three managed to make it outside the Opera without injuries, though Kendra was trembling a bit.

When Erik removed her blindfold, she sighed in relief and blinked in the bright daylight. "Ugh, that was not fun. Andrea, your life must suck sometimes. Is it always like that?"

"I didn't find the journey particularly unusual. Perhaps a bit longer than I would have expected, but otherwise fairly ordinary."

"Yeah, your life must suck sometimes. So, Erik, where do we go from here?" She looked back at him and noted with surprise that he had removed the black mask. Instead a large-brimmed hat was shading his face. He wasn't very good-looking, very angular and bony with deeply sunken eyes, but from what she could tell he wasn't extraordinarily ugly either. She was just starting to wonder about the mask again when he seized her hand, and she seized Andrea's dress sleeve, and he began pulling them down a fairly crowded street.

Kendra tried to get a good look at all the people and buildings as they passed, but Erik seemed to be on a mission. In between weaving through crowds, trying not to lose Erik, trying to keep Andrea with her, and trying not to trip and kill herself, she wasn't able to get much more than a vague impression. When they finally stopped in front of a storefront window with a large display of dresses, she slumped against the wall and stared at the flower shop across the street.

"Didn't want to let us stop to smell the roses?" Kendra asked. "Or stop to admire Paris, or stop to catch our breath, or stop to try and spot landmarks in case we get lost…"

"We will not get lost," he replied curtly, holding the door open as Kendra and Andrea entered the shop. "I am quite familiar with Paris."

"Is that why you could find the dress store so quickly? Or are you a regular customer?"

"As I said, I am familiar with Paris."

"Right…"

At that moment a smiling middle-aged woman walked up to the group and asked something in French. Kendra stared blankly.

Erik replied in French while Kendra continued to stare blankly, and before she knew it dresses were being shoved into her hands and the woman was running a tape measure all along her body

"Uh, what? What's going on here?" She tried to shove the woman away with little success.

Erik regarded her impatiently and spoke slowly. "We are having your measurements done, and then you will try on dresses. When you find a dress you want, we will have it fitted and then buy it."

"Does she have to invade my privacy so much?" Kendra once again swatted ineffectually at the woman's hair. "Andrea's not being tortured like this."

"Andrea's turn will come next."

Andrea did not look entirely thrilled to hear the news, from which Kendra took a small amount of comfort.

"What's this thing on the butt?" Kendra asked several minutes later, poking gingerly at the back of the dress she was trying on. The dress-maker muttered something and pushed Kendra's hand away.

"It is a bustle. I suggest you get used to them."

"But how will I be able to sit down?"

"I've had no reason to figure that out."

"How reassuring."

There was a shrill yell from the opposite end of the shop, where Andrea had been being measured by the dress-maker's assistant. Kendra turned to see Andrea, wearing nothing but a slip, flattened against one of the walls, looking terrified as the assistant held up a corset.

"Kendra, I don't want to wear that thing! I don't like being squeezed that way! It's not comfortable!"

Erik crossed the shop, but the moment he came near, Andrea only shoved herself further toward the corner. "It may not be comfortable, but it is fashionable and this is Paris. Everyone is fashionable. I suggest you dress to fit in."

"Why do I need to fit in? I would rather be comfortable."

"I've found it works out better if my uninvited guests at least attempt to blend in. It is less troublesome for me. This is the same reason mademoiselle Kendra will begin looking for work tomorrow…"

"What?" Kendra squawked. "But we just got here! And I'm only sixteen! Aren't there labor laws or something?"

"Sixteen is quite a common age to be working. You are not young at all. Many of the dancers are younger."

"I can't dance."

"I wouldn't want you to try."

Kendra wrinkled her nose in annoyance and stalked back to the dress-maker. It took nearly twenty minutes, but Erik was eventually able to subdue Andrea and find her several dresses. He made Kendra choose her favorite three, and they left feeling more confident in their ability to fit in. At least Kendra did.

"You know, I think I won't mind being stuck here so much after all. It's beautiful, and the dresses are kind of awesome, and French is a pretty language…"

"You two will also begin learning French tomorrow."

"What?" Kendra squawked again. "More work? Way to rain on my parade, basement-dweller."

"I have always thought it would be interesting to learn French," Andrea replied calmly. Kendra rolled her eyes.

"I think I shall find your friend a better student."

"Of course you shall," Kendra mocked as Erik stopped to blindfold her outside the Opera.

"Remember, tomorrow is when the real work begins."

"Yeah, I bet it will."

She knew, as soon as they made it back to Erik's house and she threw herself down on the bed, that she would be right.


	5. Chapter 4: Messy Developments

_Well, it's been an exceedingly long time since the last update. Sorry about that. NaNoWriMo happened and then I got distracted with school etc. I will try to update a bit sooner, but I don't know exactly how soon. I'm not going to commit myself to any specific time, but worst case scenario I should have a new chapter up by June. Possibly May._

_Um, make of this chapter what you will. It's pretty weird and things take a new direction from here. But let me know what you think about it, please.  


* * *

_

When Erik awoke in the morning, the house was oddly quiet. When he listened carefully, he couldn't even hear the sound of Kendra and Andrea talking behind a closed door, as he had when he'd gone looking for them yesterday. As he roamed about the house searching for the two girls, he could find only Andrea sitting quietly on the neatly made bed in the Louis-Philippe room. When he couldn't find Kendra anywhere else in the house, he returned to the room.

"Have you seen mademoiselle Kendra this morning?" he asked, half-distracted with worry over what she could be getting up to at the moment, what he would have to deal with later…

"No. I never do."

He glanced at her in confusion briefly before mentally slapping himself in the forehead. "Of course. As I said, it's been nearly a month since the last blind one, I shall have to work on adjusting phrases once more. Let me ask you again. Do you know where mademoiselle Kendra is this morning?"

Andrea tilted her head slightly to the side in concentration. "I don't think so. I believe she was already missing from this room when I awoke, so I made the bed."

"Ah, I was wondering why it was not a scrambled mess. Do you have any ideas where she might have gone?"

"No. Why, can't you find her in the house?"

"No, I cannot. Otherwise, why would I be asking you?"

"I don't know."

Erik rolled his eyes and began strolling from the room. "I suppose she may have gone exploring, though I am certain she knows where nothing is. That will only make it more difficult." As he passed out of the room and toward the front door, he shouted back at her, "There is probably some food in the kitchen if you are hungry."

The door slammed behind him before she was able to give a reply.

It took him a little longer than anticipated to find Kendra. For one, she wasn't in any of the places he would have expected from someone wandering up from the cellars. And for some reason the entire opera staff seemed to be unusually vigilant just when it would inconvenience him. He sent some ballet girls running in terror, quite by accident, and nearly was caught by the shade in the felt hat, who he felt like giving a painful strangulation and warning to stay out of his cellars.

By the time he managed to find Kendra without being caught or otherwise detected, he'd ended up in a strangely empty backstage area. He wasn't sure why there weren't more people around, though he did catch a single screaming girl running away from the area. Surely she wasn't screaming at him before he'd even arrived? The reason soon became apparent when he approached Kendra closely enough to distinguish more than just her side-swept fringe.

She was seated in a pool of blood and for a happy moment he thought she had managed to kill herself. Sadly, upon second glance he noticed that it wasn't Kendra's blood but that of a young chorus boy she seemed to be cradling in her lap.

"What on earth are you doing?" he immediately demanded, his accent accidentally becoming a bit stronger in his stress and confusion. "I thought I had forbid you to leave my house! Who is that?"

Kendra slowly, guiltily turned around to face him. The bottom half of her face was completely covered with blood and it had dripped down to stain the front of her new dress. "I didn't ask his name, I just sort of grabbed whoever was closest. Sorry about the whole leaving your house thing, but I was really hungry." She glanced down at the blood on the floor and mangled mess remaining of the chorus boy. "I think I got a little carried away. Sorry."

She shifted slightly and the boy slid off her lap and onto the floor. Erik stared at the body.

"What did you do to him?"

"Well, I was aiming for the neck, but I guess I missed. I wasn't thinking very straight, otherwise I probably would've been a little more careful." Kendra glanced down at the body on the floor with slight disgust. "I always feel bad when I go for the humans, because of Twilight. I don't want red eyes, you know, 'cause all those vampires are evil and Edward doesn't have red eyes. But there wasn't much choice here, and it had been almost a week…"

"I am confused," Erik admitted reluctantly. "You and your friend seem to have that effect on me."

"We're vampires!" Kendra cheerfully explained, now nudging the chorus boy's body away from her. "Which is why we didn't die in the lake. I wanted to keep it a surprise, in case you tried to kill us again, because it would be funny. But I guess it's kind of obvious now."

Erik moaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh, another surprise. And this a most inconvenient one. In the past killing them was always a quick way to end the annoyance. What can Erik do now?" He paused for a long moment, his brow wrinkled in thought and buried in his hands. Kendra considered trying to sneak away, but he suddenly raised his head again, eyes bright. "We shall have to have more rules."

This time Kendra moaned and rolled her eyes. "More? Why do we need rules? I hate rules. Andrea loves them, though, so you can continue to make her happy. If you're not careful she might end up falling in love with you, you two have so much in common."

"I will… find some highly unpleasant method of punishment for her if that were to happen." Erik paused for a moment, trying to think up a highly unpleasant punishment that didn't require the victim to die at the end. "Perhaps I could get her permanently lost in Paris. In any case, you certainly need rules. If I allow you to run amok, things like this," he gestured to the blood and body, "happen and I am in charge of cleaning them up. Speaking of which, I presume Andrea will also need to… do whatever it is you did to this boy, no?"

"Uh, yeah. Probably pretty soon, too."

Erik rolled his eyes again. "You two are already reaching the highest ranks of my most inconvenient visitors from the future. I can't have you two going around the opera killing everyone, that falls more into my territory. In addition to the new rules, we shall have to find a solution for that. We will discuss it in my house, once you are washed up and your dress is… taken care of. It will likely need to be disposed of, which will also be inconvenient." He sighed and grabbed Kendra's arm. "_Allez_, we are going back now."

Kendra tried to struggle against his grip, but at several highly intimidating glances decided to give in. She tried to remember the route by which he brought her back to the house, but it all passed by so quickly and there were so many twists and turns that she doubted she would be able to. When they were safely inside the house, Kendra thrust Erik's arm away and stormed away toward the bathroom to wash her face.

"Party pooper," she muttered as she began down the hallway.

"I despise you as well, mademoiselle."

"Kendra!" the shout came from behind the door.

Erik collapsed into a chair, thinking. As he glanced up Andrea came wandering into the parlor, her hand trailing along the wall and very nearly upsetting one of his paintings from its precarious perch. He didn't bother to say anything about it.

"I take it Kendra was feeding," she said.

"If that is what you call it. I am very much thinking to leave her mess for the staff to clean up. Let them blame the Opera Ghost so long as the Opera Ghost doesn't need to help. When she is done washing up we are going to have a very long discussion."

Andrea didn't reply, but did make her way over to the divan and take a seat silently.

"Yes, I will leave the body for the staff," he mused to himself with an air of decision, then turned to Andrea. "Often I must clean up the messes of my visitors, so that the managers will not become so angry with me as to throw me out. Or attempt to throw me out. And the damnable girls always manage to make me feel responsible for their presence here. Fortunately, Kendra has not been here long enough for that to take effect. That mess was entirely her own fault."

"I agree," Andrea said, and Erik jumped slightly. "Kendra should learn some self control."

The beginnings of a smile twitched at the sides of Erik's lips. "I believe she was correct when she said we would get along well. But you are still not planning to fall in love with me, are you?"

"Not at all," Andrea replied immediately. "Love is uncomfortable."

"I much prefer your style to that of my previous visitors."

The smile continued to twitch at his lips as he began planning out a discussion, and some new rules.


End file.
